


Crushed and Crushing

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Last Summer [9]
Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game), Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alex (Stardew Valley) is Gay, Arlo (My Time At Portia) & Sebastian (Stardew Valley) Are Siblings, F/M, High School, One-Sided Arlo (My Time At Portia)/Emily (Stardew Valley), Summer Collab 2020, YA Romance, Younger characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:00:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25916995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Haley is excited to finally go on a date with her crush that started last summer, but then she gets a text.
Relationships: Arlo (My Time At Portia)/Haley (Stardew Valley)
Series: Last Summer [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850053
Kudos: 1
Collections: (Prompts) Last Summer Collab Prompts, (World) Time in Portia/Stardew Valley, Focus on Female Characters, MinorFandomFest, Platonic Relationships, Siblings





	Crushed and Crushing

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Stardew Valley/My Time in Portia. This was written for one of the prompts for Last Summer Conest Collab over on Wattpad. I'm going to try to write at least one story per prompt before August 15th for the fun of it. This one is written for **YARomance's** prompt and needed to be 1.5-3k.
> 
> " _You are finally at your fist date with your crush, when an anonymous message on a social attracts your attention: **I know what you did last summer**._ "

Don’t use one’s phone when spending time with others.

Haley knew the etiquette quite well; in fact, the worry of the first date with her crush not going well lurked painfully in the back of her mind, making the date at the small diner feel as if it already weren’t going well when Arlo stepped away from the table. That moment he stepped away – that’s when she decided on checking her phone, possibly in hopes of alleviating her anxiety or perhaps getting a word of encouragement from Alex.

Alex…

Alex encouraged her to go ahead and go for it when he’d learned of her crush, which might seem strange given the fact they were dating, or at least by all appearances dating. In reality, they dated for appearance's sake, hiding from Alex’s actual sexuality from Alex’s grandfather, although both suspected Alex’s grandmother already knew.

The crush started the summer before when she first met Arlo.

Yet, the message sent to her from some unknown number read, “ _I know what you did last summer._ ”

“ _What did I do last summer?_ ” Haley let out a deep breath, her mind drifting to the previous summer.

…

Haley looked forward to summer as it meant no longer having to attend classes which she honestly found boring. Summer also meant tanning herself on the beach and spending time with her pseudo boyfriend talking about guys and sports, although neither suspected the other to take on the interests of the other. She found sports sweaty and dirty while Alex equally found fashion and makeup gross.

Still, they grew up with each other and Alex trusted her enough to come out to her, not to mention the fact she didn’t mind pretending to date him so that his grandfather wouldn’t suspect anything. Of course, dating at school also meant classmates who typically thought of her as some kind of typical cheerleading slut despite the fact the only reason she became a cheerleader came down to the fact she wanted to support her best friend, the slut coming from the fact she didn’t bother hiding her interest in guys.

After all, it gave others the impression Alex was a really patient guy, wholesome like his grandfather wanted nor did these rumors ever travel back to the valley.

Summer also meant Sebastian would return from wherever he got to during the rest of the year, as he definitely didn’t attend school with her and Alex – then again, he was much younger, although – rumor went around the valley of Sebastian being smart enough to attend high school despite his young age. She didn’t pay this much mind though, given the fact Sebastian – even if he had attended school, wouldn’t have been in their social circle, given the way he dressed in dark clothing.

In fact, the only reason Haley ever knew when Sebastian was in town came from someone such as her older sister or Sebastian’s younger half-sister mentioning the fact. Often, the younger teen holed himself up in the basement room, keeping to himself – although sometimes she saw him on Saturdays when he drifted by her neighbor’s house to make a ton of noise playing the instruments Sam was interested in, though more often than not she didn’t cross paths with him.

She didn’t expect Sebastian to show up at the beach during the summer, given his apparent aversion of late to anything sunny and cheerful, a stark difference from what she remembered when he was younger, closer to Maru’s age. In fact, she’d not even seen her approach until she heard the voice of someone she didn’t recognize.

“Come on. You need to get some sun so you’ll recover faster.”

“I’m fine Arlo.”

Of course, Haley didn’t recognize the name and turned her head away from watching Alex toss a ball around the beach in hopes of realizing his dream of becoming a _gridball_ player. That’s when she caught sight of a young man who in all appearances was the exact opposite of Sebastian, given the fact he actually smiled, didn’t dress in dark clothing and his hair was the vivid red she associated with Sebastian’s mother rather than the dark black Sebastian likely inherited from his father.

She swallowed, her mind contemplating the appearance of the stranger, her mind raising in an attempt to figure out who the stranger, in fact, was, as there was something familiar about the stranger despite the fact they’d never met.

…

“Something the matter?”

Haley glanced up, sliding her phone into her pocket. She attempted smiling. “Um. No. I mean…”

“You got a phone call or text which is bothering you?” Arlo sat down across from her. “I don’t carry a phone on me, given the fact…” He paused, almost as if thinking of a way to give an explanation regarding why he didn’t keep a phone on him. “Still, if something were to happen to Sebastian or Maru.”

“Ah, yes. Particularly Sebastian, right?” She watched Arlo’s eyes blinked, watching him look away. She lifted up her hands. “Sorry. Sorry. I know that you and Maru, you don’t exactly get along given the fact the two of you met the last summer and you’re not fond of how things are strained as they are between Sebastian and Maru.”

“True.” Arlo let out a sigh, his hands reaching for the red tea in front of him. She was a bit surprised he’d ordered a vegetable salad of all things to eat, yet he picked at his food.

“I’m sorry.” Haley twisted a finger in her blond hair.

“What for?” Arlo startled. “I’m the one who should be apologizing, but…” He then said something she’d not expected. “If something is worrying you, just let me know. I mean, if you don’t want to go into specific details, that’s fine, but you shouldn’t hide the fact something is worrying you.”

…

She found herself staring at the stranger.

Yes, she wondered what his connection to Sebastian was because she found herself attracted to the young man.

There was something about that Arlo person.

Of course, Sebastian _had_ to actually notice the fact she was staring and he ended up staring back which in turn drew Arlo’s attention to her. She turned her head away and noticed that Alex also noticed Sebastian’s unusual appearance at the beach. He also seemed paler compared to when she last saw him. She watched Arlo clap a hand onto Sebastian’s shoulder. “Friends of yours.”

“No.”

Which was in fact true. The age gap between Sebastian and herself, even Sebastian and Alex was there, as was the fact they didn’t have the same hobbies – although, not having the same hobbies didn’t prevent her from being friends with Alex. She titled her head, still curious what Sebastian was doing with the stranger, let alone why he was at the beach. Sebastian seemed far from thrilled from being dragged there.

“Do I really have to come out here? I mean…”

Arlo gave him a look, a look Haley remembered seeing on Robin’s face – Sebastian’s mother, whenever one of the kids in Stardew Valley got up to something they shouldn’t have. Arlo let out a sigh. “Do you seriously think I’d be here dealing with her if…”

“I didn’t mean to get sick. I really didn’t.”

Haley winced, wondering what transpired that Sebastian ended up getting ill.

“I know you didn’t. I didn’t mean to make it sound like dealing with her was me blaming you for getting sick.”

“By her you mean mom, right?”

Haley’s eyes blinked, Why Arlo looked familiar made sense, given the fact he did look like Robin. Her mouth opened, wondering why she’d never heard of Arlo before this, yet the look on his face said he didn’t want to deal with Robin specifically. He also seemed closer to her and Alex in age than anywhere near Robin in age, meaning he wasn’t like Robin’s brother. “ _Sebastian’s older brother._ ”

Which didn’t make sense.

“Yeah. I mean her. I’m willing to put up with her if it means seeing that you get better. That means you getting fresh air and sunlight even though you’re not fond of the idea.”

“Whatever…” Sebastian seemed less than enthusiastic.

Looking over at Alex, she watched him looking at her, almost as if he knew she was interested in this Arlo person.

…

“You shouldn’t hide the fact something is worrying you.”

The words honestly resonated with her and she opened her mouth, yet nothing came out. She remained unsure, particularly after Alex decided to bug Sebastian to help Haley get this date with Sebastian’s older brother. It surprised her, but then again, as he told her, she’d been so supportive in supporting him, yet it felt like she was cheating. Letting out a sigh, she finally decided it was best that she did tell Arlo about the message. She pulled out the phone and showed him.

“I know what you did last summer.” Arlo paused. “Do you know what this means?”

“No. That’s just it.”

“Well…”

She didn’t want him to explain; specifically, she didn’t want him to explain she’d done something wrong, yet she also didn’t want to interrupt whatever Arlo was saying.

“It doesn’t have to be something you actually did wrong.”

“What?” Haley sat up straighter, confused by what he’d said. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, it could be something you didn’t do wrong, but someone else perceives as being wrong.”

“That…” Haley took her phone back, looking at it carefully. That certainly wasn’t something she’d expected to hear.

…

“He’s rather cute,” Haley muttered while leaning into her hands, her eyes glued to the ceiling. Alex sat at the kitchen table with her, tossing up a ball into the air. Up and down the ball went, landing with a resounding smack in the palm of his hands.

“I can see why you like him.”

“Who?” Haley turned her head towards her older sister who started working at the saloon as soon as she turned eighteen. Emily stared. “Are you really talking about crushing on a guy other than your boyfriend in front of your boyfriend?”

“It’s not really any of your business.” Haley turned, wrapping a strand of blonde hair around her finger, frustrated in how Emily tried intruding on parts of her life in which she wasn’t welcome. She found herself rather glad nobody at school knew they were related, given the fact Emily tended to live in the world of her own complete with her own sense of fashion which often clashed with everyone else’s in Haley’s opinion.

“Seriously – you should treat your boyfriend better.” Emily left the house and headed for the local saloon where everyone in the small valley hung out including the youth. The youth of course spent their time in the arcade area. That, of course, wasn’t her thing. She did know she hoped Arlo would insist on Sebastian going to the beach again despite the fact she suspected Sebastian would in fact likely have gotten a slight sunburn.

In fact, Arlo did frequent the beach although he struggled in getting Sebastian to take a run with him unless the sky was cloudy, particularly after a bit of sunburn on his face. Alex found himself quite thrilled with Arlo’s attitude towards athletic pursuits making Haley slightly jealous, yet she didn’t push the issue even after Alex announced yet again at the kitchen table at her home that, “I got Arlo’s phone number.”

“Arlo? I’ve seen him at the saloon in the evening. Do you know where he came from?”

“He’s…”

Haley nudged Alex under the table, shaking her head. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn’t very nice.

“HE’s who?”

“Sebastian’s older brother.”

“Uh-uh. If the two of you don’t want to answer, then I’ll just find out tonight when I go to work myself.”

Haley took a deep breath, knowing it would look odd if she went to the saloon when she didn’t do that. As such she didn’t go, yet she needn’t worry, given the fact Arlo apparently left that day, given the fact Sebastian was feeling better from whatever had gotten him sick – hence why Alex got Arlo’s number.

…

That, and he arranged for Arlo to come on this date with her, but played her up, something which completely made her a blubbering mess. She’d never been like this on a date before, but then – she and Alex weren’t dating. Taking a deep breath, she looked Arlo in the eye. “Can I try to figure this out? I know we’re on a date, but…”

“Sure. I’d rather you do figure this out, but if it’s someone…” Arlo didn’t finish the sentence as they both knew what he meant regarding a stalker.

Letting out a sigh, she sent a message. “ _What did I do?_ ”

“ _You should know._ ”

“ _I can’t possibly know as a lot of things happened last summer._ ”

“ _You cheated on your boyfriend._ ”

“ _I did not._ ”

“ _You crushed on a guy who wasn’t your boyfriend._ ”

Haley let out a deep sigh, then typed. “ _Emily, is that you?_ ”

“ _No. I’m not your sister._ ”

“ _Except you’re the only one who ever told me crushing on a guy who isn’t my boyfriend is wrong._ ” Haley glared at the phone, her lips pushing together. There was also the fact Alex let Arlo know quite clearly he and Haley weren’t a thing, being open with his sexuality Sometimes she wondered if he’d tried confessing to Arlo first.

“Well, it certainly seemed like that,” he’d told her. “I mean, I came out to him to make it clear that you and I weren’t dating, but I did set things straight – after he told me he wasn’t into guys. It was quite amusing.”

“It’s embarrassing. And telling him I have a crush on him instead of me telling him.”

“Hey. He lives quite far away, so it wouldn’t have been easy to do that. He’s going to stop by for the summer because he’s wanting to try and get to know Maru, although…” Alex stopped, “Why don’t you exchange information for a bit.”

Which she did, which was how she learned the situation between Sebastian and Maru honestly bothered Arlo – he was after all their older brother, but the more she conversed with him, the more she liked him. Of course, she and Alex weren’t a thing.

“ _You’re also on a date with him right now._ ”

“ _And Alex is okay with that._ ”

“ _So you get two cute guys? That so isn’t fair._ ”

Haley looked at her phone, suddenly realizing – although she might have realized back then when Emily started asking about Arlo that her sister liked Arlo as well. Of course, she’d been a bit jealous of the idea herself, thinking back; she didn’t, however, rush over to the saloon in hopes of beating her sister to the punch in getting together with Arlo, particularly since that would have seemed bad even if it did mean that Emily might have gotten together with him instead.”

“Haley?”

“I. Sorry.” She looked up at Arlo.

He frowned, obviously worried about the situation. “Why do you think you now know who it is and why?”

“It’s my sister.” Her mouth pushed together and she looked at her phone, feeling slightly guilty; Emily after all was her sister.

“Oh.” Arlo let out a sigh. “That’s like…”

“She, um…”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“No. I mean, my sister is accusing me of something.”

“Maru accuses Sebastian of things all the time.”

“Yeah, but Emily has a crush on you, so…”

“I can’t be with someone…” Arlo looked away. “I deal with that too much with Maru and Sebby.”

“Sorry.” Haley looked at her phone. “ _I knew it was too good to work out._ ” She wondered if she should send a message telling Emily she’d won, at least in respect, given the fact…

“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. It’s your sister whose…” Arlo let out a sigh.

“Yeah. But I really wanted this to…” Haley looked up, a few tears starting to well in her eyes. Her eyes blinked, watching Arlo stare at her.

“I meant I couldn’t deal with your sister. I wouldn’t be able to date her, knowing she did what she did.”

“Yeah, well, she’s kind of convinced like everyone else that Alex and I are dating.”

“And?”

“And you’re trying to tell me that shouldn’t stop us from dating.” Still, in the back of her mind, Haley knew she would need to somehow resolve things with Emily, hopefully without outing Alex to her older sister.


End file.
